You Gotta Hold On
by Crawcolady
Summary: Sometimes the hardest and only thing you can do, is just wait.
1. Chapter 1

**Be kind, please! This is my first venture into writing a fanfic, so . . . constructive criticism is definitely appreciated, comments and reviews are welcomed, flames will be tolerated but not taken seriously. (My Momma taught me that if you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all.) So . . . here goes.**

Anthony DiNozzo, Jr. sat tiredly in the uncomfortable chair in a quiet hospital room, silently contemplating the puzzle laying in a heavily medicated sleep in the bed beside him. Almost of it's own volition, his hand rose, skimming lightly over the other man's forehead, mindful of the row of dark stitches and several colorful bruises contrasting the otherwise too-pale skin of Tim's face. Using the excuse of gently sweeping unruly locks of hair back from his friend's forehead, he again grounded himself in the reality of the younger man's presence. Rubbing the same hand roughly across his own face, he quietly told his partner, "We got them, you know. The information you provided led us right to their headquarters. They're currently in lock-up, pending transport to Gitmo under the Patriot Act. There will be no trial, but they will never walk as free men, ever again. You did good, Kid."

"Man, you should have seen the Boss and Fornell tag team them down in interrogation. I have seen him pull off some good ones, but this time . . . well, he was like a precision instrument tuned to just one thing, bringing them down. Vance was in the observation room with Ziva and me, and I really think that the Boss impressed even him."

"I have to tell you, you are looking better. Much better than you were a few days ago." Looking down at his hands, he said, "Damn, Tim, when we went to round them up, I never would have thought . . . it was such a screwed-up . . . We thought it was about over, nothing left but taking them in, but then Masters took down Fornell's man and brought up that gun . . . my heart actually stopped beating for a minute. I saw him look at you with such hatred, and I knew what was going to happen, but there was no time. Gibbs was under fire from one of Master's men, Fornell was trying to get in a shot at Master's, I couldn't get a clear shot at anyone from my position. I saw your face, and I saw that you knew . . . You could get the guy shooting at Gibbs, or you could try to defend yourself. You chose Gibbs. Then Masters fired, you went down, and Ziva let loose on Masters . . . You would have been proud of our Ninja-girl. She was awesome in her fury. I don't think Masters is going to forget that for a LONG while-at least until he heals. I got to you, and you were just laying there . . . your eyes were open, glazed, and for a minute I thought you were dead . . . there was so much blood, all over your head . . . you wouldn't respond to me, and when your eyes closed, I truly thought it was over then." Tony sighed tiredly, "You gotta hold on, Kid. You gotta come back to us, . . ."

Catching a movement out of the corner of his eye, his hand automatically started to his holster as he became aware of a silent shadow standing at the door of the room. Relaxing slightly in recognition, he motioned him in, saying quietly "Come on in, Boss. The doc has relaxed the "one person at a time" rule for him. He knows how things are with us, God knows he's had one of us in here under his care enough!"

Catching the aborted movement toward the gun, Gibbs moved on into the dim light without comment, bright blue eyes silently assessing the condition of both young men as he entered. Moving another chair from beside the wall, he sat it down so that he could keep both of them in view without much trouble. "How's he doing? What did Dr. Pearson have to say when he came in, Tony?"

"That things are looking better. His scans all came back "within normal limits", his vital signs have all stabilized, the wound "looks good", and that basically it's all up to Tim now. They took him off the vent about two hours ago. He hasn't woke up yet though, for any kind of . . . " his words trailed off as if he had lost himself in the words he was about to say. Looking up at his mentor, he quietly but forcefully choked out, "Man, I HATE this! I gotta . . . go stretch my legs or something, maybe get some coffee. I'll be back soon." Just as he was about to leave the room, he paused, giving a last look at both his friends. The look on his face was quiet, almost heartbreaking as he quietly stated, "If he don't come out of this one, Boss, I don't know if I can go on. This is getting too hard. I somehow survived losing Kate, but if we lose Tim. . . I can't . . . " He quickly left the room before the older man could reply.

Gibbs sat there silently, watching the youngest of his chosen family as he slept, hopefully healing. It was so hard, sometimes, carrying the responsibility for these young lives-his team. The ones who willingly placed themselves in the line of fire, sometimes on a daily basis, Tony, Ziva, Tim, and their support team, Ducky, Abby, and Jim Palmer. They had all worked together for so long, they functioned so well as a team-sometimes not even needing to speak to each other, knowing almost instinctively what was needed and when. The whole team was unusually close, but Tony and Tim-well, they were truly special to one another.

How two such polar opposites could have become as close as they did, was unexplainable. They were as alike as chalk and cheese, but had somehow meshed into a cohesive, well-matched duo. Hah, sometimes he wondered if they knew that Balboa's team called them Batman and Robin, they worked so well together. Somehow, these two men from completely different ends of the personality spectrum, had each found in the other something that they had each been missing all their lives.

Neither one had much in the way of a family life-Tony's father being an internationally famous high-society business man and his mother having lost a long hard fight with cancer when Tony was 8 years old. DiNozzo, Senior had no use for a kid traveling with him in his high society circles, so Tony endured a seemingly endless progression of Nanny's, step-mothers, and boarding schools, until entering college and finally finding a place for himself at a fraternity. A Phys Ed major with a minor in Criminal Justice lead to a position on the Baltimore PD after graduation. While on a case one day, his path crossed with Leroy Jethro Gibbs, on undercover assignment with NCIS and they worked the case together. Gibbs was impressed with the younger man's potential, a job was offered and accepted, and the rest, as they say, is history. Tony thrived in the law enforcement environment, and under Gibb's tutelage was making quite a name for himself in the field.

Tim though, he was a living, breathing wonder. He completed high school at the age of 14, obtained two Master's degree's (one from MIT and the other from John Hopkin's) and several assorted certifications by the age of 20. Timothy (no middle initial) McGee had received lucrative job offers from every one of the "alphabet soup" agencies, the FBI, CIA, DOD, NSA, ATF, NCIS, and several private sector companies. He turned down many more prestigious and lucrative offers to accept a position at Naval Criminal Investigative Services. Tim had decided at a very young age that law enforcement was his goal, and that the best way he could combine law enforcement with serving his country was NCIS. While serving their country, Navy men and women could worry a little less about the safety of their families at home because of the dedication and service of NCIS. Tim was proud to serve them as they served their country, and it showed through the efficiency and dedication with which he performed his duties.

While working at Norfolk, Tim was called in to work occasionally with the MCRT, or Team Gibbs as it was sometimes not-so-affectionally called, on cases where computer savvy was required. His determination, drive, integrity, and steadfast loyalty were soon apparent to the team leader and coworkers alike. When Gibbs had first brought the younger agent onto the team-5 years ago now-Tim McGee had been so young, naive and inexperienced . . . it was almost like having a "kid" on the team. Snorting quietly to himself, Hell, it WAS having a kid on the team. Tim was only 22 when Gibbs had brought him aboard the MCRT, but was already showing such promise, such drive, that the team leader knew that he had not made a mistake when he "blew the younger agent out of the water" by quietly telling him "You belong to me now!" after he had arranged for his transfer to the unit.

Soon known to everyone from SecNav on down, and by the FBI, CIA, and NSA as "Gibb's Wonderkid", everyone that met him was impressed by the quiet, unassuming, intelligent, slightly shy young man, who quickly drew quite a following from the CyberCrimes Unit, AKA "the Geek Squad", as he was quite a conundrum to them-a "geek" that carried a gun, so to speak. A near genius with the quickest, quirkiest mind that Gibbs had ever personally known, Tim started out as Team Gibb's computer whiz, quietly but much more than competently filling the need for high tech wizardry on the team. Tony DiNozzo, Gibb's Senior Field Agent and second, was at first amused by the socially awkward young man and secretly awed by Tim's prowess with all things technological. Seeing the vulnerable spots in the younger agent's training, Tony stepped up to bat, loudly and sometimes obnoxiously "training" his Probie, trying in his own way to "toughen him up" without losing that valuable "something"-that almost-but-not-quite innocence-that was so much a part of the younger man's personality.

Tim, in turn, soaked up the training like a dry sponge absorbs water, practical jokes and sarcasm included, learning, remembering, and seasoning into his position as the youngest field agent in the history of NCIS. Gibbs and his superiors watched the young agent's progress with the realization that while Tony DiNozzo was destined to follow in Gibb's footsteps as a great Team Leader, Tim was perhaps headed for an even greater destiny-they could actually see him rising to the position of Director of NCIS.

Family life was . . . complicated for Tim. Descended from a long history of Naval career men, it was determined at a young age that Tim suffered from an inner ear affliction which produced terrible, almost life threatening, seasickness. A Naval career was NOT in the cards for the young man and therefore, he was "a disappointment" to his father and his grandfather. He was viewed as "soft", preferring to play with computers all day rather than have a "real career", a viewpoint that they never failed to drive home to him every chance that they got. His mother, a Naval officer's trophy wife, never failed to side with her husband on anything, and Tim was, at best, tolerated by his extended family. His sister, Sarah, was 7 years younger than he, therefore, although he was quite protective of her, they never had much of a relationship. His only real family was his grandmother, Penelope Langston, a true child of the 60's; feminist, activist, scientist, teacher, and respected author in her own right. She is the one that taught Tim that living up to his own potential-being the best that he can be at whatever he did best-was the most important thing in his life.

Being partnered together was the best thing that could have ever happened to the two men. Tony drew Tim "out of his shell", matured him, and helped him through self-doubt and social awkwardness. Tim steadied Tony's recklessness, toned down some of his brashness, made him actually stop and think sometimes, and brought out a protective streak in him that no-one, except perhaps Gibbs, had ever seen in him. The two were more than partners, more than just friends, they were brothers.

Bringing his troubled gaze back to the room's silent occupant, Leroy Jethro Gibbs, ex-Marine Gunnery Sergeant, sniper, Team Leader of the MCRT of NCIS in DC, and current surrogate father of two troubled and injured young men watched as his youngest fought a silent battle for his life, and his oldest fought a similar battle for his soul. He knew deep in his heart that the only good outcome of this situation would be the recovery of the man currently sleeping in front of him, because if the younger was lost, the older would never be the same.


	2. Chapter 2

Tony sat at an outside table at the little coffee shop just down the block from the hospital, sipping his coffee and halfheartedly picking at a roll that he had bought, not because he really wanted it, but because he knew he should eat something. He was unfocused, thinking about his partner, when he suddenly realized that someone had sat down at the table across from him. Looking up, he gave a, hopefully, reassuring half-smile to "the Third" on their team, ex-Mossad officer Ziva David.

Gazing knowingly back at him, she asked quietly, "McGee?"

"Doctor says he is doing as well as can be expected, that it is _all up to him now_. God, I hate that phrase!" Tony said quietly.

"This is a good thing, though, is it not? McGee is a strong man, and he has much to come back to us for. You must not give up on him, Tony, for you are part of his strength. He would do anything for you, for me, for anyone on Gibbs Team. It is who he is. If, at this moment, he seems weakened, then we must lend him our strength. You must not let him see any aspect of defeat, it will worry him and he will blame himself . . . you know he worries about us much more than he worries about himself. Sometimes I believe that the only reason he takes care of himself is because he knows it would hurt us if he didn't." Ziva replied.

Tony sighed, "Intellectually, I know you are right, Ziva. I am worried though, how can I not be? His head injury . . . his mind . . . the doctors don't know anything, and Tim hasn't awakened yet . . . it has been four days now that the doctor has said he could wake at any time, and it is tearing me apart, Zee. He is so . . . " his voice trailed off.

"Yes, he is, Tony. Timothy McGee's life is precious to each one of us. You must keep up your faith in him. AND you must take care of yourself. What would he say, how would he feel, if he knew that you are agonizing over this? Come, I have coffee for Gibbs. Let us go to Tim's room so I, too, can tell him that he must come back to us."

Upon entering Tim's hospital room, Ziva quickly moved across to hand a tall coffee to Gibbs, who accepted gratefully. He stood and stretched, allowing her access to the chair and McGee. He crossed to where Tony stood, silently gazing out the window. Taking a sip of the coffee, he gave a small sigh, and asked, "Tony, you okay?"

"Me? Hell, yeah, I'm fine. I'm not the one laying in the bed with a hole in my head, trying to wake up so I can find out if I am still in my right mind." Tony replied with a bite of sarcasm, and perhaps with a bit of fear as well.

"That's it, isn't it, Tony. It's not that you are afraid that he isn't going to live, it is that you are afraid to find out if he is . . . " Gibbs paused, as if to say the words would possibly make them more real.

"The words you are looking for there are _'brain damaged'_, Boss." Tony replied, with a quiet bitterness. "Probie could be brain damaged because I wasn't doing my job, I trusted a blasted FBI agent to have his six, and I was too far away, too caught up in the action, to be there to defend him when he was too busy . . . too selfless . . . too (his breath caught in his throat). . . you know." He just stood there, trying to breath through his emotions, which were much to close to the surface. He was tired, his emotions were raw, and he desperately needed an uninterrupted night's sleep, and more than anything, he needed his friend to wake up and for everything to be all right.

"Tony, it's not your fault! McGee took out my attacker instead of turning to protect himself, does that make me at fault? Do you blame me?" Gibbs asked quietly.

"Boss! No! That is just the way he is made, he could no more have left you to fend for yourself in order to save his own life than I could have." Tony exclaimed.

Gibbs reply came back swiftly, "Tony, the only person who is at fault here, is Masters. He is the one that shot Tim. He . . . " He dropped what he was saying at the look that was coming over DiNozzo's face.

Suddenly, the subtle niggling in his mind that had been bothering Tony since the firefight rose to the surface! "Wait a minute, Boss! Did you see Master's face when he grabbed the gun and turned?"

"No, I was a bit busy at that time, DiNozzo, why?"

Tony thought about it for a minute, formulating his thoughts, making a "run-through" in his head, remembering what happened. "Masters took down Fornell's man, grabbed his gun, and turned, _deliberately _looking for Tim. The look on his face when he pulled that trigger, he HATED him right at that moment. How could he have known who he even was, let alone . . . " Tony's voice trailed off.

". . . that Tim was the one who tracked him down?" Gibbs finished the statement for him. "He couldn't have known that. There is no way!"

"Boss, you didn't see his face. He _knew_ it was Tim. There were other, more available targets. He could have shot half a dozen agents in the time it took for him to deliberately look for Tim! That's it! That's what has been on the edge of my mind for the past 4 days. I have been so jumpy, so . . . uneasy."

"I've noticed, Tony. Subconsciously, you have placed yourself on protection duty here ever since Tim was hurt. You haven't ever left him alone. You only leave when either Ziva or I am here, not Ducky, Abby, or Jim. You only sleep when one of us is here to watch him, you jump at shadows, and don't think I didn't notice that you have been keeping your weapon handy. I think you might be right. Remember, they were in the process of packing things up." He looked thoughtful, "We thought that they were finished, but what if they were just getting ready to bug out, move to a different location, and we got there too soon? They were tipped off!"

"Boss, if that is the case, either we or the FBI have a big problem. We have a mole!"

"And we have another problem, Tony! They could still be targeting McGee!" Whipping out his phone, Gibbs dialed the Director's number.

"Vance", came the expected answer.

"Leon, we have a problem, just came to my attention. Call Fornell, need a meet in your office ASAP! Take DiNozzo and David off the rotation, McGee could still be in danger. We also need a protection detail on the door! I would prefer one of ours, but FBI _only _if it is someone that Fornell truly trusts! I'll tell you the rest when I get there!" He listened briefly to Vance's response, then shut the phone and prepared to go.

"Tony, you are with me, you will need to be in on the meet for your info, then you are going to rest, and tonight you will come in and relieve Ziva." He turned to Ziva noticing that she was watching him with worried interest, not having been privy to their low-voiced discussion. "Ziva, something has been brought to my attention, we might have a problem. I need you to stay here with Tim for a while. Leon is sending over an agent to stand at the door. You know Tim's doctor and the nurses who care for him. No-one other than they or one of the team gets in this room to talk to him. Fornell is okay, but not any other Feebie, understood?"

"Gibbs, does this mean that McGee is still in some danger?" she asked, coming right to the point of what was worrying her.

"I hope that I am wrong - but I'm afraid that I am right, Ziva. Keep alert, and we will be in touch. Report in every two hours starting right now!" Gibbs instructed her.

"Do not worry, I will watch over McGee. No one will touch him with intent to harm. I have told you before, he is mine to protect. My friend, my brother. Rest easy, Tony. He and I will both be here when you return, but Gibbs is right. You must rest if you are going to continue watching over him. You know he will be safe with me. I will call with anything changes.


	3. Chapter 3

CHAPTER 3

Leon Vance, Director of NCIS, rose as Gibbs and DiNozzo entered his office, coming around his desk to greet them as they moved to the conference table in the room.

Tobias Fornell, FBI, was already seated at the table, studying an open file while making notes on a legal pad. He looked up in concern as they strode into the room. "How's your boy doin', Jethro? I haven't had time to get there to check on him yet."

Seating himself rather tiredly in a chair with Tony pulling up the chair on his right, Gibbs replied, "McGee's stabilized, they took him off the vent 4 hours ago and he is breathing fine on his own. His latest scans came back showing that the swelling has reduced significantly. Doctor says that he will come back to is when he is ready. They just don't know anything about residual damage from the injury until he wakes up and they can do an evaluation. Right now, it is just a waiting game."

Vance glanced at Gibbs young protege with sympathy, taking in the stress and exhaustion that seemed to rise off him, "You doing okay, DiNozzo?"

"Tired, Director, just really tired . . . and worried." was the low response.

"What's going on? Why did you call this meeting, Jethro?" asked Fornell.

Gibbs looked at both men, "Tell them, Tony."

Both men listened intently as Tony DiNozzo replayed the events from four days ago, and what he had remembered earlier while in his best friend's hospital room. The room was quiet for a few minutes after he finished speaking, as each man mentally reviewed his report.

Director Vance was first to respond, picking up his phone and making a call. "Balboa, your team just finished up a case? I need you to report to my office, right away." Closing his phone, Vance leaned back in his chair looking at both Gibbs and his SFA. "We let Balboa's team in on this, get them coordinating with you on protection detail for McGee and helping with the investigation. Next to you and your team, they are the best we've got."

"Thanks, Leon. My team is running pretty ragged right now. One man down and the rest of us running on fumes. We don't want to make any mistakes here . . . "

"What do you need from the FBI resources, Jethro?" Fornell was ready to provide any help that was needed. "I have some men who have been with me for years that I would trust with my life, hell, that I would trust with Emily's life. We can take rotation on McGee when needed."

"What we need is to make some connection between Masters and someone in our strike team. Someone had to have tipped them off that Tim had tracked them down with proof of their activities." Giving a small huff of air, Gibbs stated, "Hell, the best person to do that is the one laying in the hospital right now needing protection . . . who else do we have that can do what he can?"

"From our CyberCrimes Unit, either Keating or Murray should be able to assist. They're not able to pull rabbits out of their hats like McGee, but Keating has worked with your team as TAD on occasion, Murray is relatively new but according to McGee has a lot of potential. We could get both of them working on a connection. Do you think Miss Scuitio would be willing to give them a hand, she seems to have a knack for assisting with these types of things? I know she has been helpful to McGee at times."

"This is for Tim, Leon. Just try to keep her out of it!" was Gibbs wry reply.

The Director moved his toothpick to the corner of his mouth and gave a small half-smile, "Yeah, I see some potential in that area, but I'm sure that you are already aware of that. Even though they work together a lot, they work in different departments so I really don't see a problem there if you don't."

"Rule 12 exists for a reason, but what can I say, they aren't "dating", they are in love. There is a big difference there." Was Gibbs reply. "I've never encouraged them, but I have never interfered between them either. Just waiting to see what they decide."

Tony listened to this exchange with a small smile. He thought to himself, '_Man, if Probie only knew! I know he and Abby have been so worried about what Gibbs would think. Kinda thought that is what has been holding them back . . . making them try to keep their relationship a secret, respect for Gibbs and his rules.' _

He was abruptly brought back to the present when Gibbs turned to him, "DiNozzo, go home, get some rest. I need you to be back at the hospital at 2100 to take over for David. And I mean get some time horizontal, preferably sleeping! Do not back to the hospital right now. Got it?"

"Yeah, Boss, I know I need to get some sleep. Need to keep on my toes if I'm gonna be any good for Probie. I'm just . . . well, I know I can trust Ziva, but I'm not sure about the others. Even if you, Fornell, trust them, I still don't know them-they haven't proved themselves to me yet, if you know what I mean." Tony looked troubled. He liked and respected FBI Assistant Director Tobias Fornell and didn't want to seem disrespectful, but several of the FBI agents were not among his favorite people.

"DiNutzo," Fornell began, using his own nickname for the younger agent, "you know my opinion of your partner. He's one of those that if your agency didn't have him, I would. You know how much my daughter means to me. I would trust these men with my daughter's safety, so you should be able to trust them to watch over your partner." He looked at the younger man, and for the first time Tony saw a crack in the FBI agent's facade, "We won't let anything happen to him, son, not on my watch. I personally owe him too much." came the promise.

Tony stood a little shakily, "Boss, I'm not going home, but I will go lay down on the long couch in the quiet room for a while." He held up his hand, forestalling any interruption by his Team Leader. "Right now, I really don't think I should be behind the wheel of a car," he admitted quietly.

Gibbs eyes softened slightly, "Go on, Tony, lay down for a while. I'll make sure you are up and ready in time to relieve Ziva."

**************NCIS********************


	4. Chapter 4

Being called to the Director's office first thing in the morning was a new and definitely unexpected experience for young Sean Murray. He and Agent Keating had barely settled in at their respective work stations when Carol Stevens, the head of the CCU, told them both that their presence was requested by Director Vance. Glancing nervously over at Agent Keating while in the elevator, Murray could feel the tension and aggravation rolling of the more experienced agent. Wondering silently what Keating's problem was, Sean quietly followed him into Director Vance's office.

As senior agent from his division, Keating stopped just short of the conference table, Murray beside him, and said, "Director Vance, you wished to see us?" He took in the fact that Special Agent Gibbs was present, along with FBI Special Agent Tobias Fornell.

"Yes." Vance replied, and quickly explained the situation to the two computer techs. "What I need you to do, Keating, I need you to investigate Master's, check into everything you can find on him. I need to know if he has a link to anyone here at NCIS or with the FBI. Can you do that?"

With a smug smile, Keating replied, "Yes, sir. I will have a complete file on him for you before this evening. I'll get on it right now, if you wish?" After Vance's agreement, he turned and quickly left the office.

Director Vance turned to the young man remaining, "Agent Murray, I know that you and McGee have worked together a lot since your hire, and recently have been working on a new snooper program for the agency's benefit. Do you think you are familiar enough with his "style" that you could follow McGee's cybertrail, tracking where he went and what he uncovered during his investigation? I'll understand if there is a problem with that, because McGee is the best of the best when it comes to undetected cyber investigation."

"Yes, he is, Director Vance, but we have worked together enough, and I think he has taught me enough that I can at least follow his "footprints" through the system. If he "entered" any other agency's domain, however, he will have covered himself well enough that no-one could track him. I will need access to his computer system. This is the type of thing that can only be traced on the computer it was done on." He paused briefly, as if wondering if he should continue, "Director, how is he?"

Knowing that the rookie agent was anxious to hear how his friend and mentor was doing, the director turned, "Gibbs, take Murray down to McGee's computer and let him get started, please brief him on Agent McGee's status on the way. This meeting is dismissed."

****************************NCIS****************** ********

Walking down the stairs from the Director's office with the two older agents, Murray listened quietly as Gibbs told him of Tim's injuries and his prognosis. He shook his head in dismay and silently offered up a prayer for the Special Agent who was teaching him so much.

Leading the young man to McGee's work station, Gibbs stopped and watched as Murray settled in, turning on the CPU and waiting for it to boot up. "While you are using his machine, don't change any of the settings . . . I don't think Keating has ever recovered from the tongue-lashing he received from McGee the last time he was TADed to my team during Tim's absence for a week and used Tim's set-up. I'm not quite sure what all he changed, but it took Tim most of a day to get everything set back the way he had it and we had to listen to him grumble about it for the rest of the week! Although I will never forget the look on his face when he turned his machine on and it said '_Good morning, Special Agent Keating_' after it booted up!"

Murray gazed back at him with wide eyes, reminding Gibbs an awful lot of McGee during his first year on the team, "Keating changed settings on another agent's machine? Wow . . . I knew he had brass, but . . . wow . . . that's kind of like sleeping with another man's wife and then rubbing it in his face! It's just NOT done! There's a type of unwritten law among geeks. You don't mess with another geek's stuff!"

Gibbs looked back at him with a bit of surprise in his eyes, "So McGee wasn't just having a "hissy-fit" when he found the changes?"

"No, sir! It's kind of an unwritten law, like the "Code of the West". If it's not yours, you don't mess with it!" was Murray's reply as he started his search for Tim McGee's tracking trail.

Gibbs just stood there a moment, watching him, with a thoughtful look on his face then turned and settled in at his own desk.

*****************NCIS***************************** **

Ziva looked up quickly from the magazine she had been thumbing through, laying a protective hand on Tim's arm when Tony entered Tim's hospital room at 2100 hours that night.

"Any changes? How did the day go?" Tony asked quietly, handing Ziva a cup of her favorite Blackberry tea then sipping from his own cup of coffee.

Taking an appreciative sip of the fragrant tea and sighing, Ziva closed her magazine. She looked closely at Tony and saw, thankfully, that he had apparently been able to get some rest earlier. "He has started having periods of restlessness. I reported this to his nurse and she stated that means he is getting closer to awakening. When he was restless, I simply held his hand and talked to him, or . . . well, you know how much he likes having his hair messed with. I felt that if he knew someone who cared was here with him, he could perhaps relax somewhat."

Tony responded, "Sounds like you did just right, Ziva. You can go home and get some rest now. Gibbs wants to see you in the office at 0800 tomorrow morning so that he can bring you up-to-date on what he has going on. I'll be here to keep McSleepy company, and don't worry, I'll call if there are any problems. Matthew Jett from Balboa's team and one of Fornell's men, Roy Black, are at Tim's door tonight so we will be fine. Ducky is supposed to be here at 0700 to talk with Dr. Pearson in the morning. Abby plans on riding in with Duck, so I imagine we'll be hit by Hurricane Abby while Duck and the doc have their talk!"

"All right, I will leave for now. Take care of him, Tony." Turning and laying a gentle kiss on his bruised brow, Ziva said, "Goodnight, _mon_ _petite frere,_ I will return to see you tomorrow. Get better, I need to see those beautiful green eyes of yours open before I can believe all will be well." She nodded and waved to Tony as she left the room.

Studying his partner's face, Tony moved automatically to the chair that had been abandoned by Ziva. Moving it slightly so that he could easily see both Tim and the door, Tony reached out and lay his hand on his friend's arm. "See, I told you I'd be back, McHero. Ziva tells me you are closer to waking up. Don't disappoint me, I would really like to see those eyes of yours opened also!" He waited a moment, "Fine, I can wait a little bit, just promise me you won't wait too much longer, okay buddy?"

Grabbing the remote for the room's television, Tony changed channels until he found the Turner Classic Movie channel. "Hey, McGee, how does _The Dirty Dozen_ sound? I haven't seen that one in a couple of years . . . " and he started in on the various actors, the director, and the producer of the movie, giving a monologue of various movie facts about the time it was filmed.

*************************NCIS********************* ******

"Any changes? How did the day go?"

He distantly heard a familiar voice say.

A different, but still familiar voice replied, _"He has started getting periods of restlessness. I reported this to his nurse and she stated that means he is getting closer to awakening. When he was restless, I simply held his hand and talked to him, or . . . well, you know how much he likes having his hair messed with. I felt that if he knew someone who cared was here with him, he could perhaps relax somewhat."_

Briefly he wondered who they were discussing, it sounded like they were worried and he wondered if he should be concerned if it was someone he knew.

"Sounds like you did just right, Ziva. You can go home and get some rest now. Gibbs wants to see you in the office at 0800 tomorrow morning so that he can bring you up-to-date on what he has going on. I'll be here to keep McSleepy company, and don't worry, I'll call if there are any problems. Matthew Jett from Balboa's team and one of Fornell's men, Roy Black, are at Tim's door tonight so we will be fine. Ducky is supposed to be here at 0700 to talk with Dr. Pearson in the morning. Abby plans on riding in with Duck, so I imagine we'll be hit by Hurricane Abby while Duck and the doc have their talk!"

McSleepy! . . . at Tim's door? . . . Were they talking about _him_? Why would they be discussing him with such worry in their voices? Why would there be someone watching his door? Ducky and a doctor were going to have a talk? What in the heck was going on?

"All right, I will leave for now. Take care of him, Tony."

With these words he felt a light brushing of lips on his temple._ "Goodnight, mon petite frere, I will return to see you tomorrow. Get better, I need to see those beautiful green eyes of yours open before I can believe all will be well." _

After these words he heard the sound of a door closing. It was quiet for a few minutes, then he heard a rustling sound beside his bed. _"See, I told you I'd be back, McHero. Ziva tells me you are closer to waking up. Don't disappoint me, I would really like to see those eyes of yours opened also!"_ There was quiet a moment, then, _"Fine, I can wait a little bit, just promise me you won't wait too much longer, okay buddy?_"

Hearing the sound of the television in the room come on, he then heard, _"Hey, McGee, how does The Dirty Dozen sound? I haven't seen that one in a couple of years . . . " and he started in on the various actors, the director, and the producer of the movie, giving a monologue of various movie facts about the time it was filmed._

In the half-awake state he was in, Tim grabbed onto his partner's voice like a lifeline, using it as an anchor to keep him aware. He fought against the darkness that surrounded him, rising slowly but steadily to the surface like swimming upstream through a heavy current. He tossed and turned restlessly in the bed, catching his partner's attention.

"Hey there, Tim, relax, lay still . . . don't go aggravating anything."'

Tony stood at his bedside, one hand on his arm and one gently carding through his hair. He sucked in a sudden breath when he saw Tim's eyes open into twin slits of jade, _"You with me here, partner? Come on, I know you're in there. Give me some sign that you're back with me."_

"T'ny? Wha'? It took most of Tim's strength and concentration to get out those two small words. He looked up at Tony's face, seeing the sheen of tears in his eyes, and tried to move his arm, reaching up shakily to touch his friend's face. "You 'k?"

With the biggest grin Tim had ever seen from him on his face, Tony replied, "Yeah, McSurpriser, I'm fine, now. Hang on, I need to call the nurse." and he pressed the call button on the side of his friend's bed. When the voice came on asking him if there was anything they could do to help, Tony replied, "Yes, please alert Timothy McGee's nurse and doctor that he is awake for the moment, although I'm not too sure for how long."

"Thank you for notifying us," was his only response.

"T'ny? Wha' hap'ned? Why here?" came his friend's questions.

Not sure what he should or shouldn't tell his injured friend, Tony asked, "What's the last thing you remember, Tim?"

After careful consideration, Tim replied, "Track'ng arms . . . Masters! . . . firefight?" was his response.

With a silent sigh of relief, Tony replied, "Yeah, buddy, we tracked the arms shipment, found them and Masters and during the take-down, you were injured. One of us has been here the whole time, keeping you company and waiting for you to come back to us. Man, you had us all worried, McBro! Don't do that to us again, please?"

"S'ry, d'nt mean to." Tim answered sleepily, and at that point they were interrupted by the entrance of Dr. Pearson and Tim's nurse. With them there in the room, Tony felt secure in leaving the room for just a minute to make some important phone calls.

"Boss, sorry about calling so late . . . you weren't . . . good. Tim's awake. Yeah, he remembered. The doctor and his nurse are in with him now, but I got a good feeling. Yeah, boss, I think he's back with us. Okay, I'll tell him. I should call Ziva, I got specific orders when she left while ago. Want me to call the other's or should I let them sleep . . . Yes, Duck and Abs are supposed to be here at 0700. Okay, I'll just let them sleep then, Ziva too, but I'm gonna tell her that it was on your orders for my own safety. 'K, see you in a bit." and he closed his phone with a snap and a smile.

The two agent's guarding the door couldn't help but overhear his side of the conversation. Matt stopped him on his way back into the room, "The doctor is still in there, is McGee awake?" he asked. The FBI agent looked on with curiosity.

"Yeah, Matt." was Tony's reply. "He woke up a few minutes ago. Looks like everything might be going to be okay. He knew me, remembered the takedown, everything. He's just really tired and sleepy right now. It's gonna take a while for him to get back up to speed. He took quite a knock to that supersized brain of his, you know?"

"Oh, man, am I relieved! I'll be glad to be able to tell Grace and Chandler that he's okay, they are gonna be so glad." was Matt's reply. At Tony's curious look, Matt responded, "Grace is my wife, Chandler is my 12-year-old son. Chandler was having a terrible time understanding his math assignments this year. I spoke to Tim about it, and he came over a couple of times for dinner and tutored Chandler through his problem. Once he explained it his way, it seemed to make more sense to Chandler and his grade improved dramatically. Tim has quite a way with young people, and Chandler really looks up to him. He's a pretty special "special agent", you know?!"

"Yeah, Matt, I know. It amazes me sometimes to see just how many people have been affected by his presence in their lives. He's a good kid and I'm lucky to have him as my partner." was Tony's response.

At that point the Feebie spoke up, "Yeah, DiNozzo, you be sure to treat him right. I know for a fact that he has a standing offer to change agencies, and that Fornell has thrown in quite an incentive package. I also know that if he changed agencies, we would have agents fist-fighting each other for the chance to partner with him! He's much more than just a good kid, he's a great agent, also!"

Tony smiled at that and said, "Good luck prying him away from NCIS and Gibbs. Apparently people have been after him for years, and he's still with us. I guess we must have grown on him or something." Looking up the hall, he saw Gibbs just leaving the elevator. He waited and they entered the room together to speak to the doctor.


	5. Chapter 5

**DISCLAIMER:**

(What I wish I could say . . . )

YES! I _do _own NCIS, all the wonderful characters, and they are _MINE _to do with what I wish! I can bring them out now and play with them for a while, and if you are very, very nice to me, I may even share them with you!

(What I actually _can_ say . . . )

I don't own them (*sob*) but I am borrowing them for a little while . . .

Chapter 5

Gibbs had been disappointed to find that Tim was sleeping when he entered the room, but after speaking with his physician and learning that the doctor was very pleased with his findings, figured that sleep was what was best for the young man at this time. Leaving Tony on guard duty, he returned to NCIS despite the lateness of the hour, stopping only for coffee on the way. Entering the bull pen, he was surprised to find Agent Murray still diligently working, tracing McGee's search path through cyber space. A legal pad filled with notes lay beside the keyboard.

"Murray?" Gibbs questioned. "It's late. Figured you would have gone home to get some sleep to start fresh tomorrow."

Reminding Gibbs again of McGee when he was new on the team, Murray's head popped up in surprise when Gibbs spoke to him. He had been concentrating on the trail so intently that shift change had occurred, the lighting had been dimmed, and Gibbs had entered without him being aware of any changes. Promising himself to work on that problem with Murray just has he had with McGee when he was a new agent, Gibbs hid his smile briefly behind his cup of coffee as Murray stuttered in reply, "A-A-Agent Gibbs, I didn't hear you come in." He blinked as he looked around the nearly empty office, "What t-time is it? Where did everyone go?" He glanced at the time-reading on the monitor.

"Like I said, it's late, Kid." Gibbs responded. "Everyone else has either gone home or gone to other assignments for now. You find anything interesting on McGee's computer trail?"

"Agent Gibbs, I have been shadowing his cyber trail, and have learned a lot about his techniques for tracking, but it's not _his_ movement on here that has me so intent. I have found evidence that someone _else_ has been shadowing him. They are subtle and I am sure that Agent McGee wouldn't have noticed it unless he was actually looking for it. Apparently he was so intent on his own search that he wasn't "looking" for someone tracking him. The problem is that although I have found their trail, I can't seem to trace it back to its origin. Whoever is doing this is almost as talented as McGee, and is far out of my league at this time. He's taught me a lot, and our program seems to be responding well to the trail, but it can only do so much without proper instruction, and I just don't have his investigative instinct yet." Murray said, lowering his eyes sadly. "He is my mentor and has helped me so much. I want so badly to be able to track down this low-life, but I'm just not good enough!"

Giving the young agent a light smack on the back of his head, Gibbs watched the wide startled eyes turn to his in astonishment. It was legend in NCIS about Gibbs and his "wake up calls" for "his kids", and everyone knew that to be "in" on the head-slaps meant that you had measured-up to the high standards of the Team Leader. "Let me tell you a story about another young rookie, Murray. This kid came on the job even younger than you, with such a lack of self-confidence that bets were going on around the building within hours about how long the kid was going to last."

"What no-one but me seemed to see though, was this kid's persistence, his "never say die" attitude. He was stubborn, determined, constantly learning and expanding his knowledge-base, and he took every request I ever threw at him and not only resolved it, but gave me the solution signed, sealed, and delivered in ribbon. It wasn't overnight, but gradually the rest of the organization came to realize that this kids particular skill-set combined with his determination and the investigative skills he developed made him one of the most valuable agents at NCIS. Now this kid has chosen you as his own "Probie". He has taken you under his wing, teaching you _his_ unique skills, and passing on his own particular brand of wisdom."

"I trusted his intent back then, and I trust his instincts about you now. If he chose you, he did so because, as I did him back then, he saw something in you that was unique. I told him when I brought him on board the MCRT that _he was mine_, and now apparently you are _his. _Just keep working on it . . . he and I _both_ know you have it in you to find the answer."

Murray sat there in shock for a few moments more, mind flying through a million thoughts a minute at what the MCRT's Team Leader had not only told him, but revealed to him through his actions. Gibbs didn't even really know him, but somehow, the legendary _Gibbs_, was trusting _him_ to find the answers that were needed to locate the traitor within the task force who was ultimately responsible for McGee's injury.

Nodding to himself and giving Gibbs an appreciative smile, Sean Murray turned with determination back to the task at hand. He had followed the shadow to a dead end before, so now he returned to the last known proven location of the trace to see if there was something that he had perhaps overlooked. Biting his lower lip in concentration, he never noticed Gibbs sitting down at his own work station with an odd expression on his face, looking rather like a fond uncle watching a favored nephew working on establishing his independence - of course if someone had been there to observe it, Gibbs would have denied it with his dying breath.

********************NCIS************************** ************

_Sorry this was such a short chapter. I was working on it, when a thunderstorm decided to appear in the west with the intention of disrupting my life and my internet later on. I am going to post this before the weather decides to turn worse, and I will update again soon! Promise!_

_Gee, does anyone out there like Murray? Reviews are like coffee, please feed my addiction!_


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